Chapter 37 Chinese folk art

The author has had a preference for clay dolls since I was a child, regardless of the fineness or roughness. As long as it is a clay doll, I will try to buy it and keep it.I have a large five-story cabinet, and within a few years, the clay dolls in the cabinet are full of "people".When I was a little older, I extracted the essence of the clay dolls, and found that the one that the northerners made the best was "Rabbit Master", and the one that the southerners made the best was "Wuxi Da Fu".Others may see it as a pile of mud, but I take it out and play with it, thinking that every piece is a rare treasure, and I am afraid that it will be bumped.

The first uncle, Mr. Wang Songru, was in Wuhan with Sun Xinyuan (Chuanfang) and Prince Chun (Zhanyuan) when he was in Wuhan in his early years.One year, Wang Song was celebrating his sixtieth birthday, and he didn't want to be extravagant. Sun Xinyuan invited several former officials of the Hubei Governor's Office to prepare a table of wine and vegetables, and sent them to Song's old residence on Baochansi Street to celebrate his birthday.Along with Sun was an old man with a dark complexion and gray hair.After I introduced it to everyone, I realized that this unattractive old man is Zhang, a famous clay figurine all over the capital, who was specially invited by Sun Xinshuai to give the old birthday man a smile.When everyone was full of wine and food, the clay figurine Zhang asked Wang Song to sit on the sofa opposite him. Everyone talked and laughed. The old monk in black clothes and manshoes came, his face and expression were almost the same as that of Wang Song.Later, the statue was painted and oiled, and it was displayed in Duobaoge together with the statue of Infinite Life Buddha engraved by a famous pot carver in a snuff bottle for Songlao, and it was listed as a treasure of Shuangsonglu.

Clay figurine Zhang said that clay, the main raw material for kneading clay figurines, must be fine and flexible.The clay in Mentougou, Beijing can only be used for making rabbits, but it is not very handy for making portraits.When he was a full teacher, the master gave him a piece of clay weighing more than ten catties.Later, when he went to give the famous and ugly Liu Kansan the posture of his country wife riding a donkey into the city in "Visiting Relatives and Scolding", because Kansan was old, his face was wrinkled, and his edges and corners were sharp. I think it is the most proud masterpiece of my life.Later, the master told him that it was the clay of the Yang family at the foot of Huiquan Mountain in Wuxi, so the clay figurines he made were right and left, which was very satisfactory.Since then, he has always remembered that the dry mud at the foot of Huiquan Mountain is the most precious raw material for clay figurines.Some people know that he regards the haggard mud of Huiquan Mountain as a treasure, and collects all the fragments of Wuxi clay dolls and clay tires for him.

According to records in ancient books, during the Northern Song Dynasty, there was an abandoned kiln near the Iron Tower in Kaifeng. The masons took soil and found that the kiln soil was smelted mud, which was used to knead clay dolls, soft and smooth.Song Huizong was also an emperor who was skilled in all kinds of arts, so the clay children made by craftsmen in the Northern Song Dynasty and stationery utensils were handed down and became cultural treasures, comparable to Song porcelain.As the Song Dynasty moved south, this handicraft also went south and flourished in the Yangtze River Basin.

The clay dolls in Huishan, Wuxi (commonly known as Da Afu) are not only well-known across the country, but have also been favored by European and American artists since they participated in the Nanyang Encouragement Expo.Later, Wuxi clay dolls were sold as far as European and American countries. Now there are several museums in France and Italy, and there are various Wuxi clay dolls on display!Among the haggard mud in Huishan, the smelting mud from a slack valley in Yang's family is the thinnest and toughest.Yang Fu and Shejian are family friends, and the young master Yang Zanshao is also a poet friend with the author, and has some in-laws.Because clay puppets are everyone's hobby, there are more than 30 clay figurines in Wuxi. These craftsmen all go to the Yang family's Xiegu to get soil.Everyone knows that Yang Zanshao is a special lover of clay figurines, so if you have an innovative masterpiece, you have to choose one for him to appreciate and comment on; gratitude.Yang Zanshao set up three elegant houses opposite his study, and asked Zhu Guwei, a great poet, to inscribe the name "Guxiangzhai" for him.Along the walls of the open hall, dolls of different sizes are made, and glass sliding doors are installed. Clay dolls of different sizes are regarded as fine products, and they are displayed in different categories and can be taken out to enjoy at any time.Every year during the Hua Dynasty, relatives and friends are also invited to come to the house to evaluate it, saying that it is a birthday for the originator of clay figurines, "Bai Ben Zhang".

Yang Zanshao said that Huoshan clay figurines became local tributes in the era of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty.Xu Ke's "Qing Barnyard Banknotes" regards hundreds of copies as the originator of clay figurines.In fact, as far back as a few years ago, some people were engaged in this craft, but at the beginning they were kneaded with flour, but the characters kneaded by flour would dry, crack, shrink and mold after being left for a long time, and could not be stored for a long time, so Workers with ingenuity and ingenuity have developed the idea of ​​using dry mud to knead.At the beginning, the villagers of Huishan took out the soil from the rice fields to knead it when they were not farming. Because the mud is fine and sandy, the viscosity is high. People compete with each other.Later, many experts with unique skills came out, such as "Clay Figure Zhang" and "Clay Figure King".Their products have their own secret marks, which can be known by colleagues at a glance. Yuan Yuchang also found that the Yang family's xitu is more handy than other places's, so the Yang family's clay has become a treasure of clay dolls.

Puyi, the emperor of Xunqing, also had a hobby of collecting clay dolls before his wedding.Chen Zengshou, a courtier, got a watermelon with a hundred seeds and a variety of baby plays, all of which are beautiful, white teeth, and good bones. It is said that it was made by Yuan Dawei. On the shelf, when Wan Rong sealed the queen and entered the palace, she heard that the emperor liked clay dolls. In her dowry, there was also a set of Liukaibaizi dolls. That melon is so soft, it seems to be vulgar and elegant, the two are incomparable. One year when I visited friends in Wuxi, it happened that on the 19th day of the ninth lunar month, Guanyin became a Buddha, and the Zizhu Zen Forest at the foot of Huiquan Mountain was holding a Dharma meeting to protect the country, bless the people, and ward off disasters. There was also a handicraft exhibition at the temple fair.All kinds of clay dolls, old and new, are exquisitely produced in local shops and markets, except for the traditional Da Fu, Shou Xinggong, Guan Dijun, Eight Immortals celebrating birthday, Magu Xianrui...the styles are becoming more and more novel and surprising.Generally, young rising stars strive to win and strive for innovation.Although there is no artistry in the early years to create lifelike crafts, the drama characters created are unique, with a handsome figure, a chic expression, floating clothes, and ancient colors. , the artistic conception has disappeared.

At that time, I browsed for a long time at the venue, and finally chose an old box of Peking Opera clay figurines: (1) "Centipede Ridge", the traveler Wu Song has a disheveled head, wears a ring clothes, and holds a cloud brush. From the face and eyes, it is clear at a glance that he is pinching Jiangnan Gai Jiaotian, the master of martial arts in short combat; (2) The scene of "Zhan Jingtang" in "Wu Han Kills His Wife" can convey the deep sorrow, pain, embarrassment and embarrassment. If it is a statue of Qi Lao (Zhou Xinfang), it is also (3) "Qingshishan" Guan Ping deceives Ru Jinjia, gazing at the frame of holding a knife, and portrays Yang Xiaolou like a living person, which is amazing; (4) "Silang Visits His Mother" portrays Mei Lanfang and Ma Lianliang In Wuxi, Mei and Ma sang "Visiting the Mother" many times. A palace dress with a high bun, a beautiful face, a pheasant tail and a crown, and a brocade belt are even more beautiful.When I chose these four plays, I was so dazzled that it took almost half a day to make my choice.After bringing it back to Shanghai, it happened to be seen by Ye Zhongfang, a well-known little shaker in Shanghai. He couldn't say anything, took it and left, and the friendship between the two generations was beyond his control.

In the second year, I went to Wuxi for a temple fair. Although I looked everywhere, I didn't find the high-quality goods I bought last year.Later, I heard that there was a man named Yang Xiaofang in Huiquan Mountain who specialized in making Peking opera. His father was the steward of the water and land troupe. Lively into the play.The four Beijing opera clay figurines I bought last time may have been made by Yang Xiaofang.It is said that his finished product has a gourd-shaped stamp of Yang San on the base. Unfortunately, after Ye Zhongfang got tired of looking at it, he didn't know where he threw it!

In the spring of this year, the Museum of History once exhibited clay dolls, which were said to have been taken away by the Japanese army during the invasion of China and then returned to my country.There are many artists in Japan who specialize in the study of clay dolls, and the cloth bag monks they make are full of silly smiles, which are comparable to our Da Fu.Although some of the clay dolls exhibited in the Museum of History are made of Yuanxi, none of them are high-quality goods.Even though the gold, jade and treasures taken by Japan during the invasion of China were returned through negotiations, how many of them were intact and presented to Zhao?

Recently, pure woodcarving artist Ju Ming has put his interest in the pottery art of kneading clay again, and held a pottery sculpture exhibition to instill some new things and new concepts in the art circle.I think Da Fu, who is left in the corner and ignored, will have another few days of good luck.